Joe Funkhouser wasn’t concerned with throwing a no-hitter. The Oak Forest senior right-hander had never been in that position before.
But in the end, Funkhouser found the fortitude to complete his first career no-hitter as the Bengals blanked Tinley Park 5-0 in a South Suburban Blue tussle on Tuesday afternoon in Oak Forest.
The victory improved Oak Forest to 16-7, 9-3. The Titans fell to 7-12, 2-10.
“I’ve never been close before,” Funkhouser said of the no-hitter. “I didn’t even play baseball as a freshman and didn’t start pitching until I was a sophomore.
“I’ve always been pretty much in the shadow of my older brother, Kyle Funkhouser, who is now at Louisville.”
The younger Funkhouser is certainly making a name for himself after this outing. He improved to 3-1 by striking out six, walking three and hitting a batter.
Funkhouser got all the support he needed when the Bengals scored four runs in the first inning. Brian Richard started the scoring by knocking an RBI single up the middle and he later scored on a passed ball. Luke Heniff (2-for-3) added a two-run single.
Oak Forest added a run in the fifth when Alex Maka, who had singled, scored on a double steal with two outs. Dan Hlad and Matt Zubek went 2-for-3 as the Bengals finished with 10 hits.
After allowing five hits in the one-third of an inning, Titan senior right-hander Kanon Saavedra settled in and only allowed five hits in the final 5 2/3 innings. He had no strikeouts and one walk.
But it was Funkhouser who had the Titans off balance all day, with only one of the outs recorded in the air. All others were on grounders, as the Bengals,who committed two errors, turned two double plays.
There was a moment of concern at the very end, however. With a runner on first and two outs in the seventh, Funkhouser got ahead of Zach Moravec 0-2. But on the follow-through off the next pitch, he landed hard and had to walk it off and regroup.
“I stepped hard off the mound,” Funkhouser said. “I had a pain in my hip and it still huts if I stand the wrong way.”
The next two pitches were also balls, bringing the count full. After two foul balls, Funkhouser completed his gem by getting a ground out to Maka at third.
“I have a good relationship with my catcher,” said Funkhouser of junior Joe Muller, who visited the mound after the hard landing in the seventh. “Tinley Park and Bremen are rival schools with us, so to do it against [Tinley] makes it more enjoyable.”
